King Arthur (2004)

A demystified take on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writer:

David Franzoni

Stars:

Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley

4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clive Owen	...	Arthur
Ioan Gruffudd	...	Lancelot
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Tristan
Joel Edgerton	...	Gawain
Hugh Dancy	...	Galahad
Ray Winstone	...	Bors
Ray Stevenson	...	Dagonet
Keira Knightley	...	Guinevere
Stephen Dillane	...	Merlin
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Cerdic
Til Schweiger	...	Cynric
Sean Gilder	...	Jols
Pat Kinevane	...	Horton
Ivano Marescotti	...	Bishop Germanius
Ken Stott	...	Marius Honorius

Storyline

Based on a more realistic portrayal of "Arthur" than has ever been presented onscreen. The film will focus on the history and politics of the period during which Arthur ruled -- when the Roman empire collapsed and skirmishes over power broke out in outlying countries -- as opposed to the mystical elements of the tale on which past Arthur films have focused.

---

Plot Keywords:

roman | knight | roman empire | freedom | sarmatian | 

---

Taglines:

The Untold True Story That Inspired The Legend

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences, a scene of sensuality and some language

Details

Country:

USA UK Ireland

Language:

English Latin Irish Welsh Scottish Gaelic

Release Date:

7 July 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

King Arthur: Director's Cut

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$120,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,829,788 (Italy) (1 October 2004)

Gross:

$3,165,602 (Brazil) (5 November 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Green Hills Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min 142 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Laurence Fishburne narrated the teaser trailer.

---

Goofs

The Pope did not have the power to give land to a people in the fifth century. This was not possible until nearly 400 years later.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Lancelot: [voiceover] By 300 AD, the Roman Empire extended from Arabia to Britain. But they wanted more. More land. More peoples loyal and subservient to Rome. But no people so important as the powerful Sarmatians to the east. Thousands died on that field. And when the smoke cleared on the fourth day, the only Sarmatian soldiers left alive were members of the decimated but legendary cavalry. The Romans, impressed by their bravery and horsemanship, spared their lives. In exchange, these ...
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, not even the production company and studio bumpers, only the title.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'King Arthur' (2004)

---

Soundtracks

"Tell Me Now (What You See)"
Written by Hans Zimmer and Maire Brennan (as Moya Brennan)
Produced by Trevor Horn and Mel Wesson
Performed by Maire Brennan (as Moya Brennan)
Courtesy of Universal Music International

User Reviews

Monty Python was more historically accurate

They could also act better and write a decent script. Nothing in this film makes sense:

• the "britons" who live in Scotland and dress like their predecessors of 4

centuries

• Pretty much everything about the armour and weapons (far too much to

mention in under 1000 words).

• In fact everything that tries to pass for history in this

mess

• The ability of everyone to understand 3 or more languages



• Britons fighting Saxons in the Borders under a Roman

flag

• Clive Owen thinking he can act



• Anyone thinking that script wouldn't make people laugh till it

hurts

• Roman conscription lasting 15 years and ending with a return to

Rome

• Low infant mortality rate and model-like mother of 11 healthy

brats(particularly made me laugh)

• Leaving a well defended fort to fight superior forces in the

open

• Magical Mystery Fort Doors that close their many-tonned-selves

automatically

• The phrase "Historians agree"



• The world's lightest heavy cavalry and most accurate

archers

• 100s of arrows from 8 bows



• The cruddy ripoff of Aleksandr Nevsky



• The many many cruddy ripoffs of Braveheart (a film which despite being

historically laughable is excellent entertainment unlike this one)

And on and on and on and on.....

It's not just that it's poor history it's bad storytelling and makes the film painful to watch even if the script did engender any interest from the audience or the numerous dreadful performances didn't remove any prospect of caring for or about the characters.

1/10 and that's only because of the bit-part guy that put on a funny Somerset accent at one point. He, at least, clearly knew a little bit about the legends and history this farce pretends to represent.

As a final thought - I don't know why Miss Knightley is drawn to bloody awful adaptations of English legends but I wish she'd stop it.